shadows of salem 01 - shadow born (22 page)

She chuckled a little. “You thought I was just a batty old woman, didn’t you?”

“Well…umm…” I squirmed a little, then fought to get the conversation back on track. Maybe her cloudy eyes were deceiving, and she’d been spying over my shoulder when I’d run my Google searches. But maybe not. “How do you know about any of this?”

“That’s not important,” she chided, wagging a gnarled finger at me. “What’s important is finding them, isn’t it?”

“Well…yeah,” I agreed. “But it would be nice to know what your connection is to all of this.”

“I’m simply a concerned citizen who wants to ensure the safety of the town I live in.” Her eyes sharpened. “Back when the Onyx Order was alive and well in Salem, they held their coven meetings in a mansion located ten miles north of here in what is now Hamilton. I believe the property is off Dearborn Road. If they’ve resurfaced again, that is where they’ll go.”

“How do you know the mansion still exists?”

The woman shrugged. “Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. But it’s somewhere to start, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I suppose…” I wasn’t sure if this was some kind of trap, or if the woman was really trying to be helpful, but I’d encountered both working for the police force, and one thing I knew for sure was you didn’t turn down a lead unless you had a better one to follow. “Thanks for the tip.”

The woman’s smile widened, a crafty gleam in her eyes. “I accept your thanks, and will be in touch soon to collect on my favor. Good luck, Detective Chandler.”

“Wait, what—” I began, but she’d already turned away, disappearing behind a bronze, paisley patterned curtain before I could finish asking her what favor she was talking about. She hadn’t mentioned that her information came at a price!

I rushed after her, but when I jerked aside the curtain, there was only a small, glossy round table and two chairs sitting there. A small corner of the shop used for medium readings, I realized, and there was no entrance or exit aside from the curtain I’d just yanked open.

She’d disappeared.

CHAPTER 23

D
isappearing woman or not, I wasn’t about to waste the only lead I had. I jumped into my Jeep, then opened up the Maps app and pinpointed the location as best I could.

The satellite feature on my phone was a godsend—without it, I would have never been able to figure out where the property was, because the area the old woman had mentioned was all woodland—probably mostly used for hunting and trail hiking. But in the center of the forest, there was a large clearing, at least two acres, and though I didn’t see any buildings there, it was the only spot that made sense.

I set a course for the area I’d marked, then shared the location with Maddock as a text message.

MEET ME AT THIS ADDRESS. I’VE FOUND SOMETHING, I added quickly, then turned the car on.

I received a text back: WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND?

JUST HURRY UP, I typed back, gritting my teeth. I didn’t want to tell him I didn’t know yet. I’M ALREADY ON MY WAY.

It took me around half an hour to get to the place, mostly because I took several wrong turns on the way there. But eventually I turned onto the correct road, and it led me to a small parking lot that was unsurprisingly empty considering the time of night. If not for my headlights, I wouldn’t be able to see a damn thing, and it was a good thing I had them, because Maddock was standing right in front of the spot I was about to park in.

“Dammit!” I slammed on the brakes and glared at him. There were no other cars here, so he must have teleported. I rolled down my window. “Couldn’t you have given me a little warning?”

His glare was even stonier than mine. “Why? I didn’t get any warning from you before you sprang this on me. Didn’t it occur to you that I might have had plans for the evening?”

I sighed. “It isn’t like I did this on purpose. Can you just get in here so I can explain what’s going on?”

I pressed a button, and the passenger door unlocked with a click that was far too audible in the cold, empty night.

Maddock said nothing as he approached the vehicle. He looked like a dark specter, dressed in a black overcoat, black slacks, and shiny black shoes. His inky black hair flowed over his broad shoulders, unbound, and his green eyes gleamed like a cat’s might when hunting prey from the shadows. A little shiver went down my spine as he opened the door, but I forced down the feeling—Maddock wasn’t my enemy. At least, not right now.

“Talk,” he snapped once the door was closed and my window was rolled up once more. I pressed another button and locked all the doors, and he raised an eyebrow. “That serious?”

“I wouldn’t have dragged you out here in the middle of the night if it wasn’t.” Grabbing the wheel, I finished parking the car, then shifted the car into park and turned in my seat to face him. “Shelley came to my apartment just minutes after you dropped me off. She says her son is missing.”

Something flickered in Maddock’s eyes, but the emotion passed too quickly for me to analyze it. “How do ye know he isn’t just partying with his other goth friends?”

“Because I went to Shelley’s house and searched his room. It’s been marked.”

Maddock’s eyes widened. “How did ye discover that?”

“I used the same spell you did to uncover the mark,” I said, a little smugly. I didn’t need Maddock Tremaine for everything, now did I?

“No, not that.” He looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. “I meant how did ye know where to apply the spell? Trial and error?”

“No.” I paused, thinking back. “I just got a feeling as I approached the bed. I guess you could call it some kind of spidey-sense. I’ve had it a couple times now, and always whenever there was something magical nearby, so I made an educated guess and did the spell.”

“Hmm. A second-sight for magic…” Maddock flicked his gaze away, staring out into the pitch darkness. “Yer powers are getting stronger,” he muttered, almost to himself.

“What was that?”

“How did yer discovery of the mark lead ye here?” Maddock’s voice was hard now. “Did ye touch the mark and get another vision? Because I assumed ye’d have learned from the last time —”

“I didn’t touch the mark,” I snapped. “I’m not stupid, okay? I found out about this spot another way.”

“How?”

I gave Maddock a summary of my visit to the witch shop. When I told him I went there to see if any of the staff recognized the symbol or knew anything about it, he snorted derisively, but his expression grew thoughtful when I told him what I had discovered.

Without outright lying, I was careful to frame the story vaguely enough that he’d assume I got the information from the docent. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a feeling telling Maddock about the old woman wasn’t a good idea.

“So ye think that the Onyx Order has a residence somewhere in these woods?” Maddock asked. “And ye decided to rush here to check it out now, without any reinforcements?”

“I brought you, didn’t I?”

“Aye, but if I’d known what we were getting into, I would have brought a few of my men.” Maddock glared at me. “I’m not sure whether to be annoyed or flattered that ye’d think I’m capable of taking down an entire coven of witches by myself.”

My cheeks flushed, mostly because I knew he was right. It would have been better if he’d brought his reinforcements. The thing was, I wasn’t used to having people I could count on in situations like this. Whenever I’d had to deal with anything vampire-related, the only person I’d been able to call on was Tom. Right this very second, in a professional sense, Maddock was my Tom. And it hadn’t occurred to me that he might want to bring anyone else along.

“Well, we’re already here,” I said evenly. “We can’t just turn around now. Why don’t we just go there and see if we can at least do some reconnaissance? Find out what we’re dealing with. And then we can go back for reinforcements.”

Maddock grunted. “I highly doubt this will work out the way yer suggesting. But I am curious to see if the directions ye were given lead to anything at all. The covens were always very meticulous about hiding their locations. I’ve never known where the Onyx Order kept their residence.”

“What, you couldn’t just use your fae magic to find out?”

He slanted his gaze at me. “We may be god-like, but few of us are all-powerful or all-knowing.”

I snorted as I unfastened my seatbelt. “If that was supposed to be a humble-brag, I’m not sure you succeeded.”

We got out of the car, and I checked to make sure my weapons were in place before locking up the Jeep.

“Ye should be wearing something more substantial than that.” Maddock growled as he eyed my blazer. “It’s bloody freezing out here.”

I shrugged as I buttoned up. “The cold doesn’t bother me.” I lifted my face to the stiff breeze whistling through the night, enjoying the way it tugged at my silver curls. “I kind of like it, actually.”

“I can see that.” Maddock regarded me for a moment, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. I wondered why he found my affinity for the cold so fascinating. “Are ye going to stand there posing all night, or are we ready to go?”

“I was waiting for
you
,” I grumbled, my cheeks heating again. I pulled my phone from my pocket, checked the directions again, then pointed north. “We’ve gotta head a couple miles that way.”

We walked silently, the only sound coming from our frosted breaths and our boots whispering along the dirt path. I’d learned long ago to tread softly no matter what sort of footwear I sported, and apparently Maddock possessed the same skill.

He’s thousands of years old. He probably possesses lots of skills.

I glanced sideways at him as we walked. His face was mostly cast in shadow from the canopy of trees, but dappled moonlight spilled through the branches, highlighting his sharp cheekbones and the brilliant green of his eyes.

A part of me wished that I could question him more, to pry more knowledge out of him about this strange world that I was never more than a sideline member of. But even if I thought he’d answer, now was not the time to talk. The glare from my phone’s screen was already alerting enough attention as it was, and if not for the fact that I needed it both to see where I was going and to guide us to our destination, I would have hidden it away.

The occasional rustle sounded through the brush every so often, making the hairs stand up on my neck. But it was always some sort of nocturnal animal—a raccoon foraging for its breakfast, a hedgehog scurrying through the undergrowth, a bat chasing a moth through the trees. Once, we even saw a bear picking what was left of the blackberries off a bush not five yards away. But even though it turned our way and stared for a moment, it largely ignored us and went back to its nighttime snack. I had a feeling Maddock was responsible for that—I felt a strange tingle that suggested he was using magic, maybe to keep some of the bigger animals from attacking us.

I could imagine doing this with Tom, walking hand-in-hand through the darkness, surrounded by silence and peace and nature. Of course, since Tom didn’t have Maddock’s mojo, we probably would have gotten eaten, or at least almost eaten. But still, it was a nice thought.

Except for the fact that he’s gone, and you’ll never get the chance to do anything like this with him again.

My throat swelled with tears, and I pushed back the familiar swell of grief. Now wasn’t the time for that. And besides, there was a good chance that finding the Onyx Order would also lead to finding out what happened to Tom. He’d been looking for missing children, and the Onyx Order was kidnapping people. Surely there was a connection there. Occam’s razor and all that jazz.

After about three miles, we came across what we were looking for. The path didn’t change, but to our left, the trees gave way to a wide clearing. The opening was about five feet wide, large enough for me to get a good look, and though plenty of moonlight illuminated the clearing from above, I could see nothing but grass. But I felt that tingle again—the one that told me magic was near.

“It’s here,” I murmured, taking a step forward. A glint of silver caught my eye, and I looked down to see a lone earring half-buried in the dirt.

“Detective…” Maddock warned, but I was already crouching down, my fingers digging it out.

Boot prints in the ground suggested somebody had stepped on it, and recently, too. There were definitely people here.

A dark, windowless room with a single, bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Beneath the lightbulb, a steel table. Chained to the table, a naked, black-skinned creature with a forked tail and cloven hooves. He was thrashing and screaming, his body lit with an unholy red glow as a pale woman in a black dress pressed both hands to her palms. Her ice blue eyes glowed unnaturally in the darkness as she siphoned his power. Anger and terror swirled in the air, emanating from the chained fae, but he eventually sagged under the weight of defeat—he was powerless to stop this woman.

The scene shifted to another dark room, this one with more lightbulbs, but still dim. Cages lined the walls, filled with various humanoid fae. Glittering, scaly skin and glowing eyes caught what light there was, but it was hard to see more.

A flash of fang caught my eye, and I blinked in shock at the sight of a vampire curled in the corner of his cage, looking more than half-dead. An extraordinarily large cage sat in the corner, and as my vision shifted its way, enormous hands gripped the cages and shook the bars. The bars turned poker-red, the hands started smoking, and a roar of fury split the air.

Another scene change. This one outside. Four men and a woman walked along a forest path. Reddish gold light filtered in through the trees, sunset lighting their way enough that flashlights weren’t necessary. Jason was being carried on a stretcher between them, bound hand and foot. His black hair was matted with blood on the side of his head, and his pierced lip was swollen and bloody.

The path widened, revealing the same clearing Maddock and I had just discovered. This time, I could clearly see the colonial mansion that lay beyond, but before I had a chance to get a good look, Jason’s eyes popped open.